Winston’s Wish pledges commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

11th January 2023 News, Press Releases

As part of our ongoing commitment and action plan to be an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace, Winston’s Wish has pledged to live by a set of Eight Principles which aim to address the lack of diversity in the charity sector.

The principles, as set out by ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations), and commit to:

Acknowledge that there is a problem with racial diversity in the charity sector and commit to working to change that.
Recognise the important role leaders have in creating change by modelling positive behaviour and taking action.
Learn about racial bias and how it impacts leadership decisions.
Commit to setting permanent and minimum targets for diversity that reflects the participants, donors, beneficiaries and the population of the area that my charity operates in.
Commit to action and invest resources, where necessary, in order to improve racial diversity in my charity.
View staff as the sum of many parts rather than a single entity and recruit to build a diverse group of talented people collectively working towards a shared vision.
Recruit for potential, not perfection.
Value lived experience, the ability to draw from one’s lived experience and to bring insights to an organisation that can develop its work.

These principles were established following the racial diversity in the charity sector report 2018 which found that charities do not reflect the diversity of the communities they serve with only 9% of the voluntary sector workforce being from a BAME background.

This is just one of many important, new developments in our EDI commitment and action plan where we aspire to be as open and accessible as possible both as a provider of high-quality services to bereaved children and families across the country, and as an employer of skilled and talented staff from a range of diverse backgrounds.

It is our commitment to be:

An Inclusive Service

That delivers accessible and inclusive services, making sure under-represented beneficiaries can find our support and that our practices are relevant and appropriate for their needs and that we understand the impact of these practices on them.

An Inclusive Organisation

That creates and maintains a diverse workforce that reflects the current economically active population demographic in the UK and the diversity context in our key local sites (including at our Board and Executive levels);

That maintains and develops an enriching culture and community, one which is true to our values, in which diversity is embraced and cherished, and where individuals can bring their complete selves into the workplace and make progress with their careers;
That provides protection and positive support for all individuals from under-represented groups and those with protected characteristics, making sure all employees, volunteers and service users treat each other and are treated with fairness, respect and equity.